TY  - BOOK
ED  - Spangenberg, Izak
ED  - Landman, Christina
AB  - This book on the legacy of Albert Schweitzer contextualises this remarkable intellectualist, humanist, medicine-man, theologian and Nobel Prize winner. This collected work is aimed at specialists in the humanities, social sciences, education, and religious studies. The authors embrace philanthropic values to benefit Africa and the world at large. The publication engages with peers on the relevance of Schweitzer’s work for humanitarian values in Africa. The essays in the book stimulate further research in the various fields in which Schweitzer excelled. Its academic contribution is its focus on the post-colonial discourse in contemporary discussions both in South Africa and Africa at large. The book emphasises Schweitzer’s reverence for life philosophy and demonstrates how this impacts on moral values. However, the book also points to the possibility that Schweitzer’s reverence for life philosophy is embedded in a typically European appreciation of ‘mysticism’ that is not commensurate with African indigenous religious values. From an African academic perspective, the book advocates the view that Schweitzer’s concept of the reverence for life supports not only the Biblical notion of imago Dei but also the African humanist values of the preservation and protection of life, criticising the exploitation of the environment by warring factions and large companies, especially in oil-producing African countries. It also argues that Schweitzer’s disposition on ethics was influenced by the Second World War, his sentiments against nuclear weapons and his resistance to the Enlightenment view of ‘civilisation’. With regard to Jesus studies the book elucidates values promoted by Schweitzer by following in Jesus’ steps and portraying Jesus’ message within a modern world view. Taken over from Schweitzer, the book argues that Jesus’ moral authority resides in his display of love and his interaction with the poor and marginalised. The book demonstrates Schweitzer’s understanding of Jesus as the one who sacrifices his own life to bring the Kingdom of God to realisation in this world. The book commends Schweitzer’s insight that we know Jesus through his toils on the one hand, and through our own experiences on the other. It is in a mixture between the two that the hermeneutical gap between then and now is bridged. It is precisely in bridging this gap that Schweitzer sees himself as an instrument of God’s healing. It defines Schweitzer as the embodiment of being a healer, educationalist and herald of the greening of Christianity. His philosophy on the reverence for life prepares a foundation for Christians to think ‘green’ about human life within a greater environment. He advocates aspects of education such as lifelong learning, holistic education and a problem-based approach to education. Finally, the book analyses both critically and appreciatively Albert Schweitzer’s contribution to the concepts of religious healing prevalent in African Christianity today.
DO  - 10.4102/aosis.2016.tlasr11
ID  - OAPEN ID: 625170
ID  - OAPEN ID: OCN: 982244966
ID  - OAPEN ID: http://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/31812
KW  - promotion of peace
KW  - albert schweitzer
KW  - quest for historical jesus
KW  - medical healing
KW  - enlightenment
KW  - injustice
KW  - civilization
KW  - ethical mysticism
KW  - consumerism
KW  - ethics
KW  - african development
KW  - religious healing
KW  - reverence for life
KW  - educational thought
KW  - ecological crisis
KW  - materialism
KW  - “greening” of christianity
KW  - post -colonialism
KW  - african humanism
KW  - ethical awareness
KW  - new testament
KW  - compassion
KW  - indigenous people
KW  - social relations
KW  - african academic biblical interpretation
KW  - colonisation
KW  - environment
KW  - moral imperialism
KW  - gaia hypothesis
KW  - non-violence
KW  - responsible citizenship
KW  - Africa
KW  - Albert Schweitzer
KW  - Ethics
KW  - Historical Jesus
KW  - Jesus
KW  - Reverence for Life
L1  - https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/31812/1/625170.pdf
L1  - https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/31812/1/625170.pdf
L1  - https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/31812/1/625170.pdf
L1  - https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/31812/1/625170.pdf
LA  - English
LK  - https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/32227
PB  - AOSIS
PP  - Durbanville
PY  - 2016
SN  - 9781928396031
TI  - The legacies of Albert Schweitzer reconsiderednull
ER  - 
